Lift truck



March 4', 1924; 1,486,045

' J. P. SHUFORD LIFT TRUCK Filed Ma rch 29. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet x J. SHUFORD LIFT TRUCK March 4, 1924.-- 1,486,045

Filed March 29. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jay/award,

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Patented Mar. 4, 1924.

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JACOB P. SHUIEORD, 0F GAFFNEY, SOUTH CAROLINA.

LIFT TRUCK.

Application filed March 29, 1923.

To all 1071 am it may concern Be it known that I, JACOB P. Snunonn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gaflney, in the county of herokee and State of South Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lift Trucks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to improvements in lift trucks and has for an object to provide an improved device of this character which will be found useful in undertaking establishments and by the wholesale grocer or wherever the handling ofheavy goods and packages is required.

It is another object of the invention to improve generally the construction of lift trucks and to provide for a greater capacity in the truck.

A further object of the invention resides in providing an improved lift truck in which the lifting of heavy caskets and the like will be attended with slight effort and wherein the construction is stable and the lifting accomplished without injury to either the apparatus or the goods.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an improved lift truck constructed according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken there through with a. box or casket indicated in dotted lines.

Figure 3 is a similar view showing the raised position of the parts, and

Figure 4: is also a plan view showing a slight modification.

Referring more particularly to the draw ings, the deviceconsists of longitudinal side rails or beams 5 and 6 connected by end rails or beams 7 and 8. The arrangement is such as to provide a relatively large open substantially rectangular structure supported for movement upon the swivel casters 9.

Upon the frame are a pair of rock shafts 10 and 11, being preferably parallel and sit- Serial No. 628,480.

uated toward the ends of the frame but advantageously within the end beams 7 and 8.

The rock shaft 10 is journaled at one end in a bearing 12 secured as by the fastenings 13 to the side rail 5 near the outer edge portion thereof. A second bearing 14; for the other end portion of the shaft 10 is secured in a similar manner and in a corresponding place upon the opposite side rail 6.

Similar bearings 15 and 16 are provided for the companion shaft 11. The shafts are extended to one side of the frame. for instance beyond the bearings 14 and .16 for the purpose of attaching the handles 17 and 18 by which rotary movement is communicated to said shafts. ,The handles may be made by bending projections of the shafts in to crank form or separate handles may be attached to the ends of the shafts.

The shaft 10, between the bearings 12 and 14. is provided with a pair of cams 19 fixedly carried by said shaft and turning therewith on movement of the shaft. The cams are preferably elongated with a gently sloping surface so as to afford a relatively great elevation and at the same time permit of the raising of heavy material with a minimum of effort at the handles. The cams 19 are above the rails 5 and 6 and close to the bearings 12 and 14 so that the weight of the boxes devolves upon the shaft 10 near its points of support and it will be seen in Figure 2 that in the lower position the tips of the cams rest upon the side rails and theweight is thus transmitted to some extent to the frame to avoid sagging of the shaft. Should breakage occur the load will not be permitted to descend far because of the position of the cams above the side rails.

Similar cams 20 are affixed to the companion shaft 11 and these'cams occupy a similar position with respect to the bearings 15 and 16 and to the side rails 5 and 6. Now the cams of the shaft 10 are pointed toward the cams of the shaft 11 and the cams 20 upon the latter shaft face said shaft 10 when the parts are in the lower position indicated in Figure 2 so that upon the raising movement, the cams move. outwardly and exert an equal pressure in opposite directions upon the bottom of the load. However wiping contact of the cams with the load is prevented by the interposition of hinged plates or strips of metal or other suitable material. A pair of strips 21 and 22 are provided in. conjunction with the edges or ridges 27 for sustaining the load 'theedges 27 of the hinged plates.

while lowered and it will be noted that these edges allow of the sl1d1ng of the box upon the truck with a minimum of friction so that it becomes easy to load and unload the device.

The operation of the device is as follows With the cams in the lower position indicated .in Figure 2, a casket, box or the like indicated at 28 in dotted lines is placed upon the truck so that it rests equally upon The load is supported by the four cams and by the shafts and the bearings thereof and also in part by the side rails 5 and 6.

The application of force to the handles 17 and 18 will resultin raising the load as indicated in Figure 3. tated in opposite directions or in other words the handles are swung upwardly and outwardly. The sloping surfaces of the cams ride beneath the outer flat portions i of the plates and the plates have very little longitudinal movement with respect to the load, this movement being a pivotal move ment upon the edges 27 until the flat portions come to a final position in contact throughout with the bot-tom of the load.

In Figure 4 the hinge plates indicated at 29 are secured by the. hinges 3O inwardly .of the shafts and the cams indicated at 31 in the lower position project outwardly. In this case all of the cams move toward the center of the machine so that there is an equality of strain upon the load and the moving parts.

It will be understood that the shafts and 11 may extend longitudinally of the The shafts are roframe if desired instead of transversely and the bearings for the shaft in this case will be secured to the end beams 7 and 8 but the principle will remain the same.

With this device heavy goods and pacle ages may be transported from place to place with ease and safety and lifted and lowered in a convenient manner. 2

lt'is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims What is claimed. is

1. A lift truck comprising a frame, bearings thereon near the corner portions of the frame, two spaced shafts journaled in the bearings, cams fast on the shafts near the corner portions of the frame, short plates hinged to the corner portions of the frame and resting on said cams, said plates being widely separated both longitudinally and transversely of the frame and having ridges extending in widely separated alinement to initially receive the load, said plates having angular end portions adjacent the ridges to support the load in the raised positions of the plates, and means to rotate the shafts. 2. A lift truck comprising a wheeled frame, bearings thereon at the four corner portions of the frame, two shafts journaled in the bearings transversely of the frame, cams fast on the shafts near the corner portions of the frame, short plates hinged to the four corner portions of the frame and extending longitudinally of the frame, said plates resting on said cams and being widely separated, both longitudinally and transversely of the frame and having ridges e tending in widely separated transverse alineinent to initially receive the load, said plates having angular end portions adjacent the ridges to support the load in the raised positions of the plates, and handles to rotate the shafts.

JACOB r, snuronn, 

